Unilever Settles India Mercury Fight

The the logo of Unilever at the headquarters in Rotterdam, June 5, 2015.

Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

NEW DELHI—Unilever PLC said that it has agreed to compensate hundreds of workers of a now-closed production facility in southern India, ending a decade-old dispute over alleged mercury poisoning and corporate negligence in India.

In a statement Wednesday, the Anglo-Dutch consumer giant said it agreed to pay 591 former workers on “humanitarian considerations.”

“We have worked hard over many years to address this and find the right solution for our former workers,” Dev Bajpai, Unilever’s head of legal affairs in India, said in a joint statement with the facility’s former workers association. “We, alongside all involved, are glad to see an outcome to this long-standing case.”

Unilever didn’t disclose the amount or the terms of the settlement, but said workers had decided to drop a 2006 lawsuit against the company in exchange.